The three still raising their paddles were a Japanese man with a small mustache in a crisp suit, the Taiwanese man who had earlier bid $300,000 directly, and an elderly Korean gentleman.
It was rather sad to say, this Monkey Wine was originally a specialty of the mainland, a part of Huaxia culture, and yet, the final competitors were not a single mainland Chinese.
It seemed Easterners cared more about 'face'; the bidding between these three grew heated, and after the Monkey Wine reached $400,000, the price soared once more.
In the end, the Taiwanese bidder hammered it down at $580,000!
Sitting on stage, Suming was dizzy from this sudden stroke of fortune.
My goodness, $580,000, do you know what that means—almost four million Huaxia currency!
The hell, am I rich just like that?
"Mr. Zhao, I actually... actually have a few more bottles. Should I bring them all out to sell?" Suming stammered as he asked Zhao Yun.
"Foolish boy, haven't you heard that scarcity makes something more valuable? Today, a unique bottle of Monkey Wine appeared, which is why it sold for this price. What do you think would happen if another bottle shows up tomorrow?" Zhao Yun retorted.
"That's true, heh heh, heh heh..." Suming chuckled awkwardly, indeed a bit too greedy for his own good.
After the Monkey Wine was sold for the high price of $580,000, Suming was somewhat distracted during the rest of the auction, his head in the clouds.
It was no wonder, even for a white-collar worker earning a salary of $100,000 a year, it would take a lifetime to make a few million. And here he was, having made what seemed like a lifetime's earning in one day; it'd be strange not to be excited!
Even though he was a bit out of it, Suming was still shocked by the final bottle of the auction.
A bottle of 1992 Han Emperor Moutai.
This liquor had only ten bottles produced that year, and as of now, only three are accounted for worldwide.
This bottle eventually fetched a sky-high price of $1.89 million US dollars!
With enough money, a person often becomes more generous and open-minded. Suming might have felt some envy, jealousy, or resentment before, but now he was merely astonished.
"Mr. Zhao, what do you think?" Suming asked Zhao Yun, who had more experience with auction houses, and he thought it wise to weigh his opinion for there could be benefits and no harm.
"It won't hurt to meet them. They could become part of your network in the future," Zhao Yun said with a smile.
Before long, the door to the VIP room opened, and a middle-aged man with an assistant walked in.
Suming was taken aback; he didn't expect the one who wanted to meet him to be that superstar.
"Haha, looking at Su's expression, I think you don't need to introduce yourself, Jacky," Zhao Yun obviously knew this Zhang Tianwang.
"Idol, hello!" Suming, after a moment of surprise, caught on and put away his astonished expression, greeted Jacky with a smile. Now, he was the seller, not appearing as a fan, so there's no need to be overly shocked.
At that moment, Zhang Xueyou didn't have the dazzling aura of the stage but instead appeared quite casual and relaxed. He first nodded and greeted Zhao Yun, then with his slightly accented Mandarin, he said to Suming, "Just call me Jacky. I hope you won't find it presumptuous of me to want to meet you."
"Idol, you're too courteous. I saw you upstairs earlier, if not for the ongoing auction, I would've rushed down to get your autograph," Suming said with a laugh.
"It's not too late for that."
Zhang Xueyou's assistant, very observant, interjected and took out an old-fashioned vinyl record from a bag. Holding the record with both hands, they offered it to Suming: "A small gift for our first meeting, please accept it with my compliments."
"This is..." Suming took it and saw that the record was quite old but well preserved. The outer paper sleeve was wax-sealed, bearing Zhang Xueyou's autograph, dated '97.
"A bit of a laugh, this is a vinyl record I made the year of the handover. It wasn't released in the market, so it does have some collector's value," Zhang Xueyou said, shrugging his shoulders with a smile: "I spend my days singing, acting, and earning money, I don't have other hobbies. Just fond of collecting various wines. If Mr. Su has Monkey Wine again in the future, I wonder if you could inform me first?"
He laughed somewhat sheepishly and explained, "The management companies are vampires; I work hard for my money. Spending high amounts at auctions, and frequenting them for wine purchases costs a lot, and the wife would fuss."
"I understand, no problem. If I happen to have more, you'll be the first to know, idol."
Suming quite liked Zhang Xueyou's candid attitude. He did have some more Monkey Wine left, aside from what he intended to drink, putting together another bottle wouldn't be too difficult. Selling it directly to Zhang Xueyou wouldn't work for 580,000 US Dollars, but surely thirty thousand could be expected.
However, as Zhao Yun mentioned earlier, such wine is rare and not easily found. If he sold it repeatedly, its value would diminish, making it less extraordinary. Therefore, he wasn't planning to offer it just yet.
"Thank you!" Zhang Xueyou then turned to his assistant, "Tony, leave my private number with Mr. Su."
"Yeah, if I'm fortunate enough to find it again, I'll call you," Suming said to Zhang Xueyou, waving the piece of paper with the phone number on it.